Prince Edward County Farmer Takes Home the Environmental Stewardship Award

BFOwas pleased to announce Lynn Leavitt of Leavitt’s Black Angus Beef as the 2023 Ontario recipient of The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA), sponsored by RBC Royal Bank. The award was presented to Leavitt at BFO’s 2023 Annual General Meeting Banquet, which was held in Toronto in February.

Located on the north shore of East Lake in Prince Edward County, Leavitt’s Black Angus Beef consists of 200 acres owned and 300 acres rented, while also purchasing 100 acres of standing hay each year. Of the total operated acres, 175 acres of these are used for grazing the farm’s Angus brood cows and calves that are fed and finished on the farm.

Similar to other farmers in Ontario, Leavitt was looking for an environmentally friendly solution to dispose of his used bale wrap, silage bags and twine. His drive and innovation led Lynn to develop and create the Pac-It compactor and U-Pac AgriServices to assist farmers, initially in the Quinte region, to recycle farm plastics. Since then, the service has expanded across the province and has been able to gather about 225,000 pounds of scrap bale wrap and transport it to a licenced recycle plant in Ontario. Of that amount, approximately 30,000 pounds have been compacted at his own farm.

The compactors, as well as blueprints for the compactors are available to farmers across the province.

“This tool has the potential to change the way ag plastic is recycled on farms. It makes recovery, transport, and recycling significantly more efficient and cost effective,” says Christine Lajeuness, Eastern Director of Cleanfarms, a non-profit organization committed to environmental responsibility through the proper management of agricultural plastics. “Borne out of Lynn’s ingenuity, the compaction unit allows the producers to manage the plastic in a safe and efficient manner.”

Lynn has also consulted with other groups in Ontario through a northern Ontario pilot project, a Bruce County pilot project, as well as Municipalities in Quebec. He continues to share information on the Pac-It compactor and U-Pac AgriServices, speaking and making presentations regularly at events across the province. Leavitt’s Black Angus Beef was also awarded the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation for their work on farm plastic recycling and re-purposing, as well as the 2022 Don Hill Legacy Award, recognizing creative and innovative solutions to environmental challenges faced on farm.

“Lynn has dedicated countless hours to educating farmers, organizations, end-users and policy makers about the obstacles and opportunities in collecting and recovering this plastic,” says Steph Vanthof, Member Service Representative, Ontario Federation of Agriculture. “This type of innovative work can be difficult, and Lynn has persevered through it all, culminating in some significant movement regarding plastic recovery in Ontario.”

BFO is currently accepting and welcoming nominations for the 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award. The application/nominations form can be found on the BFO website under Services/Awards, or you can contact Bethany Storey at the BFO office for more details. OB

Spotlight on Ag Plastic Pilot in Bruce County

Cleanfarms’ Building a Zero-Plastic Waste Strategy for Agriculture is a multi-year project aimed at increasing agricultural plastics’ (ag plastics) recycling capacity, entering the second year of pilot operations. At the outset of this pilot project in Bruce County, farmers were provided with plastic collection bags to sort, store, and transport their silage film and bale wrap to collection sites, and they brought in over 40 tonnes of material to date. This demonstrates the strong enthusiasm of farmers in Bruce County and quickly allowed us to evaluate the usefulness of collection bags as a way to ensure that ag plastics are stored in a manner in which they can be recycled efficiently.

Here are some of the key learnings:

• While offering collection bags allowed the pilot to get started quickly in the area, the bags can be cumbersome to incorporate into farm routines, especially for larger operations with daily practices of plastics removal.

• The volume of material that comes into collection depots requires a significant amount of space for storage, specialty equipment for pickup and transportation and significant coordination.

Pilots are all about discovering what works, what doesn’t, and what could work better. In the case of on-farm compactors, they’re essential to gaining a better understanding of the potential benefits and hindrances of using the tool.

Introducing On-Farm Compactors

On-farm compactors are an alternative to collection bags and are in use in various regions across Canada. Numerous models are available, each with slight differences in the mechanism used to compress the material.

These compactors are manually operated devices that compress large amounts of ag plastic like silage film into dense square bales approximately 4’x4’x3’ in size. The compactors make materials easier to store, which allows our transportation partners to coordinate more predictable and consistent pick-up schedules with collection sites to boost efficiency. By compressing materials, farmers are also increasing the volume of plastic that can be transported between collection sites and processors on each truckload, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions generated during the process. In Bruce County, Cleanfarms first worked with two farmers to get an initial assessment of compactors as an alternative to collection bags. Following positive feedback, the focus turned towards identifying other large-volume users willing to try out this new tool. Fifteen on-farm compactors are now in use in the region, with an additional twenty coming into play over the next year.

Identifying Ideal Testers

Pilots are aimed at bringing the right tools and the right people together. In this case, the right tool might be a compactor, so the next step is to identify farmers willing to use it and provide feedback so that the tool and the process can be improved. By nature, farmers are innovators and it makes them ideal candidates for these types of projects. They can see the bigger picture beyond just disposal. They understand that to build up an efficient and effective system, they need to consider reasonable changes to their on-farm practices and routines, as well as how the material will be received at various points in the recycling network – from transport to processing to final product. Farmers with this mindset understand and can help communicate how we need to shift perspectives so that used ag plastics can be seen as a resource and not just trash to get rid of.

Municipal staff have helped us identify these “ideal testers” in their communities and can continue to do so by connecting us with interested farmers. If you’re a farmer in Bruce County and are interested in getting involved, email Jessica Jones, Special Projects Coordinator at jonesj@cleanfarms.ca.

Upcoming Dates Events

CANADIAN JUNIOR LIMOUSIN IMPACT SHOW

August 2-5 2023 • Spencerville, Ontario

CANADIAN LIMOUSIN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING

Friday August 4, 2023 • Spencerville, Ontario

ONTARIO LIMOUSIN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING

Sunday August 6, 2023 • Spencerville, Ontario

ONTARIO LIMOUSIN PROVINCIAL SHOW

Markham Fair • Sunday October 1, 2023

Markham, Ontario

ROYAL WINTER FAIR LIMOUSIN SHOW

Saturday November 4, 2023

Toronto, Ontario

Limousin Sales

LIMOUSIN INFLUENCED FEEDER CALF SALE

David Carsons Auctions Ltd.

Monday October 23, 2023 • Listowel, Ontario

LIMOUSIN INFLUENCED FEEDER CALF SALE

Cargill Auction Market Feeder Calf Sale

Friday October 27, 2023 • Cargill, Ontario

EASTERN SHOWCASE LIMOUSIN SALE

Saturday December 2, 2023

Maple Hill Auctions • Hanover, Ontario

SPARE TIME LIVESTOCK

Don & Donna Scott & family Oxford Mills, ON Don: 613-913-1579

Laura: 613-316-8728 sparetimelivestock@gmail.com

HILLSIDE FARMS

Ray and Stacie Stanton 4250 King Road, King City, ON, L7B 1K4 416-505-0707 rays@londonproperty.ca

AFTER HOURS LIMOUSINS

Rd.

Port Hope, ON L1A 3V7 905-449-0149 clarkcattle1@hotmail.ca

LOYAL LINE LIMOUSIN

Brent and Vicky Black 82509 Loyal Line

Goderich, Ontario

N7A 3Y3

Cell: 519-955-1234 brentblack204@hotmail.com

Rob & Erin Weppler 117078 Grey Rd. 3 , Tara, ON 519-375-6108 Rob@gbtel.ca

BROWN EDEN LIMOUSIN

Neil & Suzanne Brown 768 Zion Road Little Britain, ON, K0M 2C0 705-768-1605 nsbrown@bell.net

LAKESIDE FARM

Wayne and Nancy Lawrence 263657 Southgate Rd. 26 RR#4 Durham, ON N0G 1R0 519-369-2806 lakesidelimo@hotmail.com

PINCH HILL LIMOUSIN

Paul, Brandon & Chad Homer Stittsville, Ontario 519-339-9659 or 613-987-0822 pinchhill@gmail.com

SELBY GENETICS

1762 County Rd. 11 Selby ON KOK2ZO 613 388 9286 rick.steggles@bell.net

RAIL LINE FARMS

Paul and Brad MacIntyre 221 Bruce County Rd. 1 RR #3, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519-528-2423 pcmacintyre@hurontel.on.ca

Fly Control on Grazing Cattle

By James Byrne, Beef Cattle Specialist, OMAFRA

Horn flies and face flies cause irritation, stress, production losses and effect grazing behavior when numbers are high. There are several species of flies that affect cattle in Canada but only two, horn fly and face fly, are of economic importance to grazing cattle. Stable flies are a particular problem for cattle in confinement as their preferred development habitats are manure pits and spoiled feed.

Face Flies

Face flies congregate around the eyes, nose, and mouth and feed primarily on tear secretions. Face flies are the principal vectors of pink eye between animals.

The face fly life cycle takes between 15 and 25 days to complete and up to seven plus generations can occur over the grazing period. Adult females must lay their eggs in manure of grazing cattle that is less than one hour old as eggs cannot be laid in older crusted over manure. After the eggs hatch as larvae within the manure, they crawl out into nearby soil to pupate. Adults emerge from the soil about one week later.

Face flies spend most of their adult lives living away from beef cattle, preferring to rest on nearby plants and fence posts feeding on nectar. Females must feed on the protein in tear secretions and sometimes blood to be able lay their eggs. Face flies over winter in old fence posts, broken branches, old barns, etc.

Horn Flies

Horn flies are the more significant pest of grazing cattle. These flies will be seen on the backs, shoulders, sides, and the belly of cattle. They spend most of their life feeding on cattle. This behavior causes extreme irritation. Cattle can be seen constantly flicking, tail swishing, stamping, and kicking. This behavior distracts from grazing and in addition to blood loss, decreases weight gain.

Horn flies can take up to 40 blood meals per day and as temperatures rise, fly infestations can rapidly increase to over 4,000 flies per animal in the absence of control. Above 200 flies per animal is considered economically deleterious. A moderate horn fly population of 350 flies per animal would cause 14,000 bites per day. This would remove 4.14 oz. of blood per day, amounting to 5.82 gallons of blood loss per 180-day grazing season. At this level of fly infestation, weight loss is estimated to be between 15 to 50 pounds per yearling (Byford et al. 1992). Due to the rapid increase in the horn fly population as temperatures rise, control must begin as cattle go to pasture.

Control

The principal of fly control is to break the life cycle of the fly population either directly by killing the adult flies, (e.g., surface insecticide), or indirectly by killing the developing larvae in the manure using an insect growth regulator. The aim of all these actions is to reduce the fly populations below an economic threshold, considered to be less than 200 flies per animal. Complete fly elimination is not possible, and no one control method is a panacea. Usually, some combination of control methods is required to reduce fly populations to a manageable level.

Dust bags are a relatively cheap method of applying an insecticide to cattle. These bags are activated when cattle walk under the bag causing the insecticidal dust to be spread across the back and flanks. Cattle must be forced to pass under the bags so these bags are best placed where cattle must enter an area for water or mineral. If situated correctly, dust bags can reduce horn fly population by between 80 to 90 per cent, but this drops to less than 50 per cent if there is any room for cattle to avoid the bag. Dust bags are not practical in situations where cattle are continuously rotated to different paddocks.

Oilers work on the basis that cattle like to scratch themselves. With this method, the insecticide is blended with canola or a light mineral oil. As the animal scratches itself, the insecticidal oil is released onto the back of the animal. Oilers have the advantage over dust bags in that cattle do not need to be forced to use them. This increases the number of grazing situations where they can be used. The oil insecticide blend needs to be renewed regularly.

There are many different types of pour-on products, (e.g., macrocyclic lactones) that can be used for fly control. These products are absorbed into the skin and kill flies as they bite. To be effective, pour-on products must be reapplied every 7 to 21 days. These products will also control lice, ticks, and gastrointestinal roundworms. High use of the same active ingredient encourages the development of resistance. This can be reduced by rotating between different classes of product every year.

Fly tags are probably the most used fly control method for grazing cattle. The active ingredient in fly tags will be either a pyrethroid, an organophosphate or macrocyclic lactone. Fly tags are impregnated with the insecticide which is released when the tag touches skin and hair. This is then further spread around by the natural grooming behavior. Fly tags kill adult horn and face flies directly. To prevent the build-up of resistance, it’s important to rotate between the different active ingredients each year. Note that this is not the same as changing brands as two different brands may use the same active ingredient. On farm, ear tags are effective for about three months and the best fly control is achieved with two tags versus one. Fly tags should be handled with latex gloves as the active ingredient can be absorbed through a person’s skin. To maximize the benefits of fly tags, they should be deployed when the population reaches about 100 flies, although this is not always practical.

Oral larvicides, (e.g., Methoprene) are an in-feed method of control, where the active ingredient is added to a mineral premix for grazing animals. The active ingredient passes through the animal into the manure where it interrupts larval development and so lowers the fly population. This type of control does not kill the adult flies directly. The big advantage of this type of control method is ease of application. To be effective the product should be fed from the start of the grazing season to prevent a build-up of adult flies. If this is not possible, adults should first be controlled with one of the products described above and introduce an insect growth regulator once the adult population is under control. As oral larvicides are an in-feed product, cattle must consume enough of the feed to ensure an effective dose of the larvicide is consumed. Where this is done using a mineral premix, careful monitoring of mineral intake is important to ensure adequate intake.

Summer fly control is an important aspect of achieving good productive performance from grazing cattle. The best results are seen when a combination of control methods is used rather than relying on one single method. OB